IT Long Range Plan

Long Range Plan for Information Technology
in the Federal Judiciary Fiscal Year 2006 Update

Introduction

Since 1975, when when the first computers were installed in the courts, the use of information technology in the federal judiciary has increased rapidly. The judiciary now has a successful enterprise-wide information technology program upon which judges, court staff, probation/pretrial services officers, and others depend to conduct their mission-critical functions. This includes a vital communications infrastructure that connects all court units securely and is now the lifeline for information transfer, stewardship applications that ensure the judiciary manages its resources effectively, and various court support projects and case management systems to provide judges and staff the tools they need to perform their day-to-day work. No organization can control completely the environment in which it operates nor predict absolutely the future that it faces. As such, the information technology needs of the judiciary continue to evolve in response to changing technology opportunities, increased internal and external expectations or requirements, and the need to restrain growth in overall costs.

The fiscal year 2006 update to the Long Range Plan for Information Technology in the Federal Judiciary articulates five-year directions and objectives for the judiciary's information technology program. While grounded in the continuation of the judiciary's previous information technology strategies, this plan is a departure from previous updates in that it presents the program in terms of five fundamental areas: judges and chambers, external participants, court operations, probation and pretrial services, and information technology infrastructure. This represents a more aggressive effort to identify needs by various constituents. Future updates to the plan will build on this approach and incorporate additional elements.

The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts is responsible for preparing and annually revising the Long Range Plan for Information Technology in the Federal Judiciary (28 U.S.C. § 612). The Judicial Conference Committee on Information Technology provides guidance in the development of annual updates and recommends the plan for approval by the Judicial Conference. Upon approval, the Director transmits the annual update of this plan to Congress. The appendix discusses the development of the plan.